Mario Frick (footballer)

Mario Frick
Frick captaining Liechtenstein in 2015
Personal information
Full name Mario Frick
Date of birth (1974-09-07) 7 September 1974
Place of birth Chur, Switzerland
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position
Youth career
1982–1990 Balzers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1994 Balzers 97 (49)
1994–1996 St. Gallen 60 (11)
1996–1999 Basel 80 (30)
1999–2000 Zürich 41 (7)
2000–2001 Arezzo 23 (16)
2001–2002 Verona 24 (7)
2002–2006 Ternana 133 (44)
2006–2009 Siena 88 (13)
2009–2011 St. Gallen 41 (5)
2011 Grasshopper 8 (1)
2011–2016 Balzers 69 (7)
Total 664 (190)
National team
1993–2015 Liechtenstein 125 (16)
Teams managed
2012–2017 FC Balzers
2017–2018 FC Vaduz U18
2017–2018 Liechtenstein U18
2017–2018 Liechtenstein U19
2018– FC Vaduz
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Mario Frick (born 7 September 1974) is a Swiss-born Liechtensteiner retired professional footballer who is currently a manager for FC Vaduz. He has earned 125 caps and scored a national record 16 goals for his country from his international debut in 1993 until his retirement in 2015. Mainly a striker, Frick was also deployed as a centre-back on occasion.

Club career

Liechtenstein

Born in Chur, Graubünden, Switzerland, Frick started his career with the youth team at Liechtensteiner club FC Balzers, in which he then played four seasons in the first team within the early 1990s.

Switzerland

In 1994, Frick played abroad for the first time in his career. The destination was the country where he has half-citizenship, Switzerland.

Each FC St. Gallen, FC Basel, and FC Zürich once experienced his services.

He played there until the turning of the millennium, which marked a giant leap in his career by moving to one of the best football leagues in the world, the Italian Serie A.

Italy

Arezzo

Frick began his Italian journey by holding the status of the first Liechtensteiner to play in Italy.

A.C. Arezzo signed him to play the 2000–01 season, where he scored an impressive 16 goals in just 23 matches.

Hellas Verona

Frick's adventure in the country's top flight began when he signed a contract with the then Serie A team Hellas Verona F.C.

It was under the management of Italian manager Alberto Malesani, who employed a 3–4–3 attacking formation, with Frick being one of the three forwards in the manager's tactics. His two partners in attack were the future big-names, Adrian Mutu (currently playing for ASA Tärgu Mureș), and Mauro Camoranesi (later signed by Juventus, now playing for Club Atlético Lanús).

However, after the club's three-year stay in Serie A since 1999, their last stint ended in 2002. Verona was relegated to Serie B. Frick and other international talents such as Adrian Mutu, Mauro Camoranesi, Alberto Gilardino, Martin Laursen, Massimo Oddo, Marco Cassetti and coach Alberto Malesani failed to keep the club in the top flight.

At the end of the 2001–02 season, he signed with another Serie B team Ternana Calcio.

Ternana

With Ternana, Frick played a total of 133 games, with 44 goals scored, a personal record for Frick in terms of goals and appearances for a single club. He stayed for 4 seasons at the club, before Ternana's relegation from Serie B in 2006.

Siena

Frick moved to A.C. Siena in July 2006. He wore the number 7 as one of the club's starting formation, playing in the Serie A once again. In May 2009, he left Siena.

Return to Switzerland

St. Gallen

On 22 June 2009, FC St. Gallen signed the Liechtensteiner forward on a free transfer until June 2010.

Grasshopper Club Zürich

Following a year and a half long stint with St. Gallen, Frick moved onto Grasshopper Club Zürich in January 2011.

Return to Liechtenstein

FC Balzers

Frick decided to end his professional career and go part-time, returning to his first club FC Balzers in July 2011. Frick retired as a player following the 2015-2016 season.

International career

Frick made his Liechtenstein debut in October 1993 in a friendly against Estonia, and established himself almost immediately as a key player for the Liechtenstein national football team.[1] Frick had a falling out with both the national coach, Ralf Loose, and the Liechtenstein Football Association near the end of the 2002 World Cup qualification stages, and he was left out of the team. This episode is chronicled in Charlie Connelly's book, Stamping Grounds: Liechtenstein's Quest for the World Cup. After changes concerning both the Liechtenstein Football Association and the coach, Frick returned to be part of the squad, which included playing in both games against England.

During a Euro 2008 qualifier against Latvia, Frick netted the only goal of the game which brought Liechtenstein their first win over a side that had qualified for a major tournament.

Frick announced his retirement from international football in October 2015, at the age of 41, after 125 appearances and 16 goals for the Liechtenstein national side.[1] He made his final international appearance for Liechtenstein in a 3–0 defeat to Austria in a European qualifying match on 12 October 2015.[2]

International goals

Scores and results list Liechtenstein's goal tally first.[3]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1 6 September 1997Sportpark Eschen-Mauren, Eschen, Liechtenstein Romania1–71–81998 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
2 14 October 1998Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein Azerbaijan1–02–1UEFA Euro 2000 Qualifying
3 7 June 2000Dreisamstadion, Freiburg, Germany Germany2–22–8Friendly match
4 21 August 2002Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands Faroe Islands1–01–3Friendly match
5 20 August 2003Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein San Marino1–02–2Friendly match
6 13 October 2004Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Luxembourg3–04–02006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
7 17 November 2004Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein Latvia1–11–32006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
8 7 September 2005Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein Luxembourg1–03–02006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
9 6 September 2006Ullevi Stadion, Gothenburg, Sweden Sweden1–11–3UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
10 6 October 2006Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein Austria1–01–2Friendly match
11 28 March 2007Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein Latvia1–01–0UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
12 22 August 2007Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland1–31–3UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
13 17 October 2007Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein Iceland1–03–0UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
14 6 June 2009Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland Finland1–01–22010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
15 7 September 2010Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland Scotland1–01–2UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying
16 17 November 2010A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia Estonia1–01–1Friendly match

Honours

Individual

Personal life

Frick's son, Yanik Frick, is also a professional footballer and international for the Liechtenstein national football team.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Sabino Palermo (13 October 2015). "Frick, il "10" dei record si ritira: il Liechtenstein saluta il capitano" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "Austria ease past Liechtenstein to finish unbeaten". UEFA.com. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Statistik:Liechtensteiner Fussballverband" (in German). Liechtensteiner Fussballverband. Archived from the original on 1 August 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
  4. ↑ "Die Bisherigen Fussballer des Jahres" (in German). Fussballer des Jahres. Archived from the original on 9 October 2007. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
  5. ↑ "Jungspund Yanik Frick eifert Vater Mario nach".
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